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yan57436's avatar
yan57436

Engineering is something you'll have to understand at some point in your elite dangerous gameplay, it's what will allow you to modify the modules of your ships and adapt them to suit your style of play. Here I'll help you with what I can

What it is: Basically engineering consists of you improving your ship's modules with specific modifications, these modifications are made by engineers (we have several and each with their own specialization). You'll improve abilities such as jump range, shield resistance, basically make your ship more effective, making it indispensable for the late game. But it's not because it's essential in the late game that you don't need to worry about it in the early game.

Choosing an engineer: As I said, each engineer will have some specific improvements and requirements to be unlocked, the ones I like the most are Felicity Farseer, who specializes in Frame Shift Drives, and The Dweller, who specializes in power distribution.

Good processes: I tell you that the best way is to evolve little by little, since it is very laborious and expensive, try to reach grade 3 in the main modules before jumping to 5. When you have reached the maximum grade, we will have experimental effects, which are the most unique, but very expensive, plan what you are going to do, remember to do a good management of materials, such as raw, manufactured and coded materials.

Engineering and equipment: How do they work together?

The engineering complements the equipment, as it will allow you to customize the modules beyond the standard. Plan the equipment with engineering in mind to maximize the potential of each module without overloading the power system or the weight of the ship.

Dydo's avatar
Dydo

Engineering: a road to success

As mastercesspit said here, “if it's not engineered, it's not worth flying, o7.”

The Basics

Engineering is a powerful game mechanic that allows Commanders to improve their modules with various modifications, depending on the Engineer they visit. It’s simple to understand: you build a reputation with them, provide the necessary materials, and they’ll modify your modules.

Since these Engineers are unique individuals in the galaxy, you first need to know about their existence. Some are common knowledge, while others require additional actions to discover, like traveling a certain number of Ly. Once discovered, you’ll be asked to bring a small contribution, like commodities or materials, to gain access. Each Engineer specializes in specific modules, so it’s helpful to know exactly which Engineers to seek out based on your goals in the galaxy. A Miner, for example, will need different modifications than a Bounty Hunter.

They’re also only found on planetary surfaces, so you’ll need a Planetary Approach Suite to dock at their bases. To strengthen relationships with Engineers, it’s best to sell commodities or exploration data, though you can also improve relations simply by applying module modifications.

Modifications nuances

Each modification has 5 levels (grades), improving specific aspects of the module while negatively affecting others, requiring you to balance the drawbacks. For example, enhancing the power output of a Power Generator reduces its Heat Efficiency, meaning you can use a smaller, lighter module, but you’ll need to be cautious in high-heat situations, such as landing on high-gravity planets (>2g) or using the Fuel Scoop for extended periods. In that case, carrying a Heat Sinker can help, but other modifications, like those to the Power Distributor, may require you to prioritize one system at the expense of others (Weapons vs. System and Engine), requiring more attentive management. Or you can simply improve your module to the grade you're comfortable with - a full engineered Power Grade that keeps your ship at 40% of Power usage doesn't make sense, right? Also, you can deactivate some modules and reactivate them only when in need, as with the Auto Field-Maintenance Unit (AFMU).

To understand engineering, you need to understand your ship, its modules, their uses, and their possibilities. Technically, you can transform any ship for almost any purpose. However, some ships will naturally have advantages in certain roles. For instance, for exploration, maximizing the potential of the Frame Shift Drive (FSD) is essential to achieve a greater jump range. Additionally, the overall weight of your ship influences its jump capability. And what adds weight to your ship? The modules! Well, most of them, anyway.

Not needing weapons, which would only add unnecessary weight, means you can downgrade certain systems, like Scanners, Life Support, or Heat Sink to reduce weight while keeping them functional enough for exploration. However, you won’t be able to do this alone; you’ll need the right Engineer to help meet your goals. Every Engineer knows the basics of stable buildings, but not all can make a perfectly optimized bridge. Trust me, when well engineered and outfitted, the performance jumps are enormous, taking a 40Ly-range ship to 60–70Ly.

And these gains can be even greater if you apply an experimental effect directly with an engineer. In fact, it’s a good opportunity to mention that you can save one Blueprint per engineer for a module of your choice, allowing you to modify it yourself at any Starport or Drake-Class Carrier up to the grade you unlocked with that specific engineer. However, experimental effects can only be applied directly at the engineer's base, and Remote Workshops do not increase your reputation with the engineer.

Third party engineering tools - use them!

Now that you understand the basics of engineering, you’re ready to choose which Engineers to seek out first. Some organization will be needed, but it’s the year 3310, so there are plenty of tools available to assist. I recommend two:

  1. A more general tool is a spreadsheet that gives you access to organized data on which Engineer does which modification, the maximum grade offered, where to find them, and what’s required to access them, and you can access it here (a bit more concise than Inara, which is also worth checking out).

A huge thanks to the Commanders who collaborated to provide us with this resource: Qohen Leth (owner), EfilOne (admin), Arjin Fury, Nexolek, Shellström, Lucienn/Kitsune, Scinaya, KT412, Belthize, TheTick, Alex Brentnall, John Keller, LazerusKI, Athanasius, Justago, BranchesOfSin, Ablative, and eugeniy. Source: Reddit.

  1. The other tool integrates with the game, focusing more on modifications by showing the materials you have or need, which are necessary for a particular modification, the number of modules currently modifiable, and more. This tool is very useful once you’ve organized which Engineers you want to approach – although you’ll likely end up unlocking most of them eventually. Remember to check the tutorial within the Github page, but it's pretty intuitive. By the way, this tool even shows where to find these materials!

https://github.com/msarilar/EDEngineer

Another huge thanks to Commander Maxime Sarilar for developing this fantastic software. This community is incredible!

https://twitter.com/DydoJustAbout/status/1857146074940510323

There are many other useful tools for a Commander, whatever your preferred career, but these should be sufficient to engineering in my opinion. Remember, practice makes perfect, so pick one engineer and modify your modules with them. But do this only after you understand how each one works and how dynamic the ship's system is, so that you don't waste materials, which can take some time to collect.

The Grind Materials

These materials vary from module to module, so it would be advisable to have a ship outfit on hand to know what materials to gather. One tip is to get the highest quality materials and then trade them with a Material Trader – you can check which stations they’re available at here, or by editing the Advanced Search for this purpose.

There are three types of materials that can be obtained in different ways: Raw Materials, by mining; Manufactured Materials, through salvaging; and Encoded Materials, by scanning ships and other objects. Also, you can get them through missions. Use EDEngineer to know what you need to do and where to get these materials, this way you can do it faster and foccused on what you need right now. There's no need to keep rushing after that - you might never pursue another career again or take a long break before you do - don't let the grind consume you!

Equipment engineering

You may notice that there are actually two types of engineers: those who modify modules and those who modify equipment. The latter are only available if you’re able to play the Odyssey expansion, and they’re particularly useful in on-foot planetary activities. They can enhance your weapons, suit, or equipment, offering utilities like Night Vision or Improved Battery Capacity.

This difference is important because the "materials" are different, and in fact, there are three types again, almost as a correlation: Components (Assets), Goods (Items), and Data (not to be confused with Encoded Materials). They’re relatively easier to obtain because they can be bought for CR on any Concourse's Bartender (disembarking in any Spaceport), acquired in missions, or purchased on Fleet Carriers (check out Inara for this). There’s only one grade for these enhancements, making this process simpler than with modules, though, in my opinion, it should be done afterward the modules.

However, I recommend visiting different Starports and disembarking, as Pioneer Supplies often sells premium equipment – though it's rare – that might save more time than the engineering process. Even though you may lose the personal satisfaction of going through the process of enhancing your equipment - if you’re in a hurry or simply want to enjoy other activities in the galaxy, this could be a better option.

Lastly, consult Inara or the Elite Dangerous Wiki, as there’s a lot of useful and detailed information about engineering there.

Make your ship worth it by engineering it as soon as possible!
o7

mastercesspit's avatar
mastercesspit
Dydo

nice, 07

thanks.

mastercesspit's avatar
mastercesspit
Dydo

my engineered mandalay jumpship is over 84ly max jump now, ;)

JHenckes's avatar
JHenckes

1 - What is engineering and why is it important?

Engineering allows you to enhance your ship's modules beyond their stock capabilities. These customizations include improvements in speed, firepower, jump range, shield strength, giving you a great advantage in various areas such as combat, exploration or trade. This will certainly increase your performance in combat zones, for example.

2 - When should you start engineering?

Without a doubt, this won't be your first step in the game. Start engineering once you've acquired a ship that suits your style of play and you're comfortable with the game's mechanics. Starting with initial enhancements, such as increased jump range for exploration or reinforced shields for combat, is useful at first. But forget about more complex modifications for the time being, which won't help you much in the beginning, just give you a headache!

3 - Who the best engineers are and how to access them

Some important engineers include Felicity Farseer for jump range improvements, The Dweller for energy distributor improvements and Professor Palin for thruster upgrades. To get to these NPCs you need to fulfill certain requirements first, such as reaching a certain level of exploration or providing specific materials. Each engineer specializes in different upgrades, so in the future it's nice to unlock all of them to have a range of upgrade options, but for now, do as I said in the previous question, focus on jump and shield NPCs.

4 - Optimal engineering processes

You can do a few things, but surely the first thing to think about is “what's the best upgrade for the ship I'm using?”. When you come to that conclusion, you already have a way to go. For example, a combat ship should need a quick charge FSD to help in battle zones, that's how we define the focus. From there, draw up a module plan to make it easier to collect materials and create the module!

5 - How engineering relates to equipment

Engineering complements the equipment! It further modifies the selected modules. Think of the equipment as the main beam of a project - this beam will be adjusted and have other structures that will help support the building - in ED engineering this “beam/equipment” will be modified, improved and complemented with other modules to strengthen and guarantee a good structure!

6 - Advice for intermediate players to advance their engineering

Focus on unlocking engineers throughout the galaxy, to open up the widest possible range of options. Also, define focuses for each ship you own! Like an exploration-oriented ship with lightweight components or a combat-ready ship with robust defenses and high DPS.

LiquidMorkite's avatar
LiquidMorkite

As a recently new player who just got into the game just when engineering has been buffed lately, as well as engineering materials farming, I found out that engineering a ship has become something quite essential, either you're bounty hunting, exploring, or doing AX combat.

  1. What is it and why do you need it?

It's basically going to a specific engineer that corresponds to certain modules, you have to trade one factor (i.e more heat, less integrity, or more power draw for weapons) to obtain another benefits, sometimes more than one per module (i.e. less weight, or more damage for weapons). Each engineered module can get an experimental effect which either offsets the main engineering negative effect, or boost the positive effects further.

  1. When should players engineer their ships?

It's not necessary, but very recommendable. I'd say when you get a medium ship, either you want to do it for combat, or exploring. The first time I find out I need engineering is when a grade A power plant on a Vulture doesn't provide enough power for me to get a grade A thruster and some beam lasers, I knew I had to start getting into it. The other example being wanting to embark to an exploration, having further jump range can help you a lot.

If you're into AX combat, engineering is always required as it will make the game way easier for you.

  1. Who are the best engineers and how do you access them?

Since every engineer corresponds to different modules on your ship, there's simply no "best" engineer. It all depends on what you are into, what kind of weapons you're using, what kind of activities you are engaging in the game. Of course there are engineers that can power up more modules than others, while there are engineers who can engineer your module all over to grade 5, and there are some that only give grade 1 or grade 3. Felicity Farseer can be a good example for a better engineer, since she'll be the first engineer that you'll unlock, plus she gives grade 5 FSD engineering, which is pretty much your starting point to travel around and go further in the game. She can also engineer your thrusters to grade 3, and some other essential modules.

Felicity Farseer can be accessed by just progressing the game, then you'll have to get some meta alloys to be able to get her to work for him, meta alloys can be easily bought from players' carriers.

  1. What are some optimal engineering processes?

Tricky question, but the idea is if you're going with one engineer, make sure to stack up enough materials for the engineering you're going after. You should also know about engineer's reputation. At max reputation, they require less materials over all for you to power up your modules, i.e. only one dip to fully upgrade your module to grade 1, two dips for grade 2 upgrade, and so on. Reputation can be gained as you working with them, upgrading one module all over to grade 5 can give you maximum reputation with the engineers, otherwise stuff like selling them commodities, cartographic data, or handing in bounties, can help speed up the progress, different engineers require different things to be able to get rep with them.

  1. How does engineering relate to outfitting?

Let's say, for an exploration ships this is more relatable. In example, you can fit a smaller power plant on your exploration ship to be able to have less weight (you get better jump range if your ship weighs less), but by engineering it with overcharge, you'll still be able to have enough power for your modules; or fit in a smaller distro for less weight but still be able to boost by using Engine Focused. These two are the most relatable examples.

  1. What advice would you give to intermediate players who want to take their engineering to the next level?

I would say first of all look up to see which engineers you need to unlock. Some are introduced to you after getting certain reputation with other engineers. Engineers like Felicity, The Dweller, and Marco Qwent are some of the examples that you should get your upgrade with at first, as they give you access to more engineers.

Also look up some materials farming methods. Encoded mats can be acquired by scanning beacons at Jameson's crash site. Manufactured can be scoop at High Grade Emissions in certain systems, depending on their superpower alignment, you get different types of manufactured mats, raw materials can be acquired by mining, but the most efficient way is the brain tree method (you can look this up on Youtube), these always give grade 4 and 5 materials, which you can trade down to lower grade for engineering at material traders at station (look up material traders on inara.cz). One important thing, always trade down your mats, and trade them horizontally (same category), some grade 5 manufactured mats can be cross trade as some can be acquired by scooping, some are only rewarded through missions, avoid oblique trade (i.e. grade 2 of one category to grade 1 of another) or trade up (trading lower grade for higher grade) as it will cost you a lot.

That's all I have to say about engineering. It has been way easier than the past (easier materials farming, engineers no longer rng based as you'll always get a positive effect as you upgrade your modules) so I'd recommend engineering the ships you're flying. Remember, it's not worth flying if it's not engineered :D it might sound like a lot of work, but given how easy it already has been, I'd say give it a try.

Good luck and fly dangerously o7

Hunter's avatar
Hunter

Engineering your ship makes a huge difference in Elite Dangerous, allowing your ship to be more capable and making travel through the galaxy safer, faster, and easier. Following are some good times to start engineering :

Once You Know What Style Of Play That You Like: If you've been playing for a bit, it's time to consider engineering based on your goals, like combat, trading, exploration, or mining. Engineering tweaks can play to each playstyle's strengths. For example, combat ships benefit from better weapons and shields, while exploration ships need increased jump range and lightweight parts.

When Ready: Engineering can be expensive, both for materials and for rebuying if your engineered ship is destroyed. Once you have a stable credit balance to support experimentation and cover your ship's rebuy cost, you're in a better position to invest in engineering.

After Unlocking Key Engineers: Some engineers offer useful early-game upgrades, like Farseer Inc. (for Frame Shift Drive range), The Dweller (for power distributors), or Tod "The Blaster" McQuinn (for weapons). Unlocking these engineers early lets you make basic but essential upgrades to improve your ship's performance. You can use this must have website :

Preparing for a Specific Mission or Role: For a long-range expedition, engineering your Frame Shift Drive for maximum jump range is invaluable. Similarly, if you’re gearing up for a Thargoid fight or PvP, investing in upgraded weapons and shields is worthwhile.

When Materials Are Accessible: Gathering materials is crucial to engineering. If you already have a stockpile of commonly used materials, wait until you can upgrade without needing extra grinding and consider engineering.

Applying Engineering on the Right Ship: Engineering is most useful on ships you plan to keep or use long-term. Before investing resources, outfit your ship with the appropriate modules so you can get the most out of each upgrade.

By engineering at the right time, you'll ensure that modifications align with your goals, making gameplay smoother and more efficient.

CI
CMDR I.N.K.V.I

Greetings pilots and not only, here I will tell you what engineering is and what it is eaten with.

1 What is it and why is it needed?

Engineering is the ability of pilots, for a certain amount of materials, and credits to improve a particular module depending on the engineer, which will allow for better performance for that module.

2 When should players engineer their ships?

When, that's a pretty interesting point, but I would suggest starting in the first few hours of the game, although you can try to specifically unlock them and they will eventually unlock themselves.

3 Who are the best engineers and how do I contact them?

For me there are no best engineers, there are those who are especially popular among pilots, as an example Felicity Farseer, because thanks to her capabilities you can increase the jump range and also add an experimental effect.

Rather it is not you who will contact them, but they will contact you after you fulfill certain conditions, these conditions can be: getting a certain reputation, selling or buying goods for a certain amount, destroying a certain amount of enemies, selling research data for a certain amount and in a certain size.

4 What are the optimal engineering processes?

It depends on the direction you choose, if combat, it's shields or the range of missiles or shells on cannons. If research, it's definitely improving jump range in FSDs.

5 How is engineering related to equipment?

It is directly related, engineers improving a module both add positive effects to it and increase negative effects along with it.

6 What advice would you give to mid-level players who want to take their engineering skills to the next level?

My advice is quite simple, save up more materials as engineering is quite costly on them, and also study the guides that would understand what kind of engineer you need, and do not forget to experiment, because you do not always know what effect will be maximally useful for you.

XCezor's avatar
XCezor

o7 Commanders, let's get into business:

1. What is it and why do you need it?

Engineering is one of the most important mechanics in Elite Dangerous. Engineers are people who can upgrade your ships modules for a price of raw, manufactured and encoded materials. In game we have dozens of different engineers and each one of them is specialist in engineering different modules. If you want your game to be much easier, you should definitely check out this topic.

2. When should players engineer their ships?

Technically asap but not in the very early game. You should learn basic mechanics first, outfitting and enjoy the views of planets. Gather some resources first, like raw materials from planets and asteroids or manufactured materials from enemy ships. Some engineers, like Felicity Farseer, are unlocked by just travelling through the space and doing normal activities.

3. Who are the best engineers and how do you access them?

In my opinion the most important to unlock in the first place are Felicity Farseer (FSD), Professor Palin (Thrusters), Selene Jean (Armor, Hull Reinforcement), and Hera Tani (Power Plant).

Each engineer has different requirements and writing all of them here seems pointless, cause one engineer (like Professor Palin) may require to unlock 2 different engineers first, each with their own requirements so for this question I'll just leave a link to Inara with each engineer listed, with their specializations and requirements. List of the all engineers is also in the game, in right panel of your ship:

https://inara.cz/elite/engineers/

4. What are some optimal engineering processes?

In my ships it's important to always have engineered FSD for much longer jump range, minimal Power Plant overcharge and improved Thrusters. It's a must-have for me to put into any new ship. The rest is optional and depends on the purpose of the ship.

  • If it's exploration, then I put lightweight effect on the heaviest modules like the armour.

  • For combat it's of course weapon engineering, greatly improved hull and shield.

  • For trading it doesn't really matter but it's important to upgrade thrusters and jump range to Grade 5 (highest one) because laden big trading ships are slow with little jump range.

5. How does engineering relate to outfitting?

Engineering is great but it has side effects. When you try to upgrade your module, you will get detailed statistics how exactly it will affect that module.
So if you want dirty drive thrusters to increase their power and ships speed, you need to remember that it will also decrease many other statistics:

The most important is to not exceed your Power Draw. If ship modules draw too much energy, some of them will be disabled. So it's important to also upgrade your power plant at the same time and check your total power in the outfitting or ships stats:

6. What advice would you give to intermediate players who want to take their engineering to the next level?

If you have maxed out the engineer, pin the most important effect for you so the engineering will be available at any station (without experimental effects, you still need to visit engineer to apply them):

Also it's important to remember that material traders exist. They are very useful when you are missing any material. At a cost of different materials you can get what you want. But the cost is pretty high when you trade materials from different groups so take care of your inventory and try to always have decent amount of resources. If you have trouble finding them, check out Inara to find the nearest trader:

Unlock Colonia engineers. Colonia engineers are professionals in every type of module and their home systems are in Colonia region, 22k Ly away from the Bubble. If you want to visit Colonia and stay there a little longer, it's good to have them unlocked if you decide to buy new ship there and experiment with new build.

(This post requires original content and Twitter has very limited post signs so I'll just leave it here)

https://twitter.com/XCezorr/status/1855771194844385682

I
Ilyssoll

The Engineers have and always will become an important aspect of the game, so much so as we progress farther with possible thargoid tech being available to us as the updates come (so we hope).

The reason engineering is necessary for us as the players is because thats what distinguishes us from the npcs and apart from what kind of player you are. Whether you want to engineer your python mk2 to produce less heat with those railguns or if you want your mandalay to reach 90ly jump range. Players should engineer as soon as they can to not only create an easier time for them while playing but also to be able to do more as the game continues. Playing with just base stats really gets you nowhere and just makes gameplay more stagnant.

In my opinion theres only one good engineer, but thats just because i focus solely on exploring...

Felicity farseer, by far has become queen of the black and made it possible for me to jump farther and faster.

Discovery of Felicity Farseer's whereabouts are public knowledge. Meeting Requirements is Gain an Explorer rank of Scout or higher. Unlock Requirements are Provide 1 unit of Meta-Alloys. Reputation Gain, Craft modules, or sell exploration data at Farseer Inc.

Optimal upgrades from her are her increased fsd range and clean thruster upgrade.

In regard to her engineering for outfitting, say the mandalay in this instance, d rate all non essential modules and allow for a rated fsd to supplement her upgrades.

my only advice...farm data mats, enconded and material mats first before going to engineers. if they could speak they would say be prepared to have everything so you dont have to make an extra trip. it sucks because most of them are on planets in not all of them.

ayebawl's avatar
ayebawl

Greetings commanders o7, especially all the new commanders out there. I fall squarely in that demographic as well since I'm only a couple of months old in the Elite Dangerous universe myself.

Whilst I don't have the depth of experience that most of the other commanders here possess, what I do have is a strong understanding of what it is like for a new player to approach engineering and the whole initially overwhelming universe of Elite for the first time.

What I often found as a new player reading and viewing the multitude of howto guides out there was there was often too much information provided that was too advanced for my beginner level.

My first piece of advice to new players that are considering getting into ship engineering is... don't! Controversial take, but believe me, newer players don't need it. Prioritise learning your ship controls, prioritise trying out the different gameplay styles, and find out first what you like doing in this big space sandbox. There's a lot to learn, and engineering doesnt need to be one of those early game things because it adds an another layer of complexity that can be detrimental.

Once you're comfortable completing basic missions and have a few ships in the hangar, then maybe consider some engineering. Engineering helps, but it is definitely not an essential early game requirement. In fact starting material gathering too early will kill some of the awe that Elite can generate by focusing too much on what can be a pretty mundane task.

Once you've bought a few ships and outfitted them with various modules you'll have a better understanding of just how customisable all the ships can be. With engineering that customisation can be even more specific and refined. The important thing is to understand the modules first before slapping engineering improvements on them. It will save you wasting time and effort on engineering the wrong thing.

I will agree with the general consensus that the 'best' engineer is the first one unlocked - Felicity Farseer. Upgrading your Frame Shift Drive to allow for greater jump range is a quality of life upgrade that benefits all ships.

A tip for intermediate players that I havent seen mentioned yet is dont forget to pin those commonly used blueprints. Nobody needs to fly every single time to Deciat to upgrade another frame shift drive.

Fly well commanders! o7

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
ayebawl

Welcome to the game and community ayebawl! This is a valuable new-player perspective, and you've expressed it well.

USCSS's avatar
USCSS

Hello Commanders, today we are going to talk about engineering.

That is why we are going to answer the questions in the description of this article.

What is it and why do you need it?

Basically engineering is enhancing ship modules to perform tasks more efficiently

When should players engineer their ships?

In my humble opinion, engineering should be done after the player has learned the basics of the game, as well as the function of each ship module.

Who are the best engineers and how do you access them?

That depends on the task you are going to perform, but in general terms, I advise starting by engineering the “Frame Shift Drive”. And the engineers I recommend unlocking to get that upgrade are “Felicity Farseer” or “Elvira Martuuk” Since with either of those two engineers you can upgrade the “Frame Shift Drive” to the maximum level which is “level 5”

To be invited to “Felicity Farseer” you need to obtain the exploration rank “Scout” or higher.

To unlock it you need to provide: 1 unit of Meta Alloys.

https://twitter.com/USCSS141477/status/1854339902428647514

To invite “Elvira Martuuk” you need to reach a maximum distance from the starting point of your career, at least 300 light years

To unlock it you need to provide: 3 units of Soontill Relics

https://twitter.com/USCSS141477/status/1854340092313104546

What are some optimal engineering processes?

It depends on the module you want to engineer and what the ship is going to be used for. For example, in my case, the first thing I did was engineer the “Frame Shift Drive” so that it has the greatest possible jump range

https://twitter.com/USCSS141477/status/1854340291957797138

How does engineering relate to outfitting?

It is good to know what each module of the ship is used for and from there decide which module needs to be engineered and which module does not need to be engineered and also what type of engineering we would like to place in each module, depending on the task that one performs.

What advice would you give to intermediate players who want to take their engineering to the next level?

My advice is to first learn the basics of the game. Learn what each module of the ship is for. Unlock “all” the engineers. And gather materials for engineers which are “raw materials”, “manufactured materials”, and “encoded data”. Once you have all this, start engineering.

(Translated with Google Translate)

Block9's avatar
Block9


Engineering is a system that allows players to modify and upgrade their ships beyond standard specifications. By visiting "Engineers" scattered across the galaxy, players can significantly boost the performance of modules—such as weapons, thrusters, shields, and more—customizing ships to fit specific roles. Engineering is essential for players who wish to tackle more challenging aspects of the game, such as high-level combat, exploration, and trading in hazardous zones.

Why You Need Engineering

The upgrades offered through Engineering can be the difference between success and failure in demanding situations. Engineered ships can move faster, survive longer, and deal more damage than their unengineered counterparts. For example, a player engaging in combat without engineered weapons or shields may find it nearly impossible to compete against NPCs or other players with fully engineered ships. Similarly, explorers benefit from engineered frameshift drives for extended jump range.

When to Start Engineering

New players should wait until they’re comfortable with the basic mechanics and have some credits saved up. Typically, players begin engineering once they have at least a mid-range ship they plan to use frequently, such as the Cobra Mk III, Asp Explorer, or Krait Mk II. Starting engineering on early ships may not be as beneficial since many players upgrade to better vessels as they progress.

Top Engineers and How to Access Them

Engineers are scattered across various systems, each specializing in different modules or upgrades. Here are some of the most popular Engineers:

  1. Felicity Farseer - Specializes in Frame Shift Drives and thrusters, ideal for explorers. To unlock her, gain Scout rank in Exploration and bring Meta-Alloys.

  2. The Dweller - Offers upgrades for Power Distributors and Laser Weapons. To unlock, trade goods on the black market and pay his required fee.

  3. Professor Palin - Specializes in Thrusters, useful for combat and exploration. To unlock, reach 5,000 light-years from your starting point and achieve rank 3 with Felicity Farseer.

  4. Liz Ryder - Expert in Explosive Weapons like missiles. Unlock her by gaining favor with a local faction in her system.

Each Engineer has specific requirements for access, typically involving faction reputation, trade, exploration, or combat achievements. Once an Engineer is unlocked, players need materials for each engineering upgrade.

Ideal Engineering Processes

An ideal engineering process involves planning your ship’s purpose and acquiring materials in advance. Some key engineering paths include:

  • Combat Ships: Prioritize upgrades to shields, shield boosters, weapons, and armor. Engineers like Elvira Martuuk (shield boosters) and Tod "The Blaster" McQuinn (weapons) can help here.

  • Exploration Ships: Focus on Frame Shift Drive (FSD) range, lightweight hulls, and low-power modules. Felicity Farseer is often the first Engineer explorers visit for extended jump ranges.

  • Trading Ships: Upgrade FSD and shields to evade or survive pirate attacks. Shielded cargo holds also help if you want to protect high-value cargo.

For each upgrade, you’ll need to gather materials, which can be sourced through mining, combat, trading, and exploring surface sites.

Engineering and Ship Equipment

Each ship module benefits differently from engineering. Here’s a quick rundown of how engineering affects different equipment:

  • Thrusters: Engineering can improve speed and maneuverability, essential for combat and escaping danger.

  • FSD: Enhanced FSD increases jump range, a must for exploration.

  • Power Plant: Engineering reduces heat generation and boosts power output, essential when running high-power equipment.

  • Shields and Armor: Boosting shields or armor makes a significant difference in survival during combat situations.

  • Weapons: Engineering weapons adds effects like extra damage, heat, or reduced power use, which can make combat much easier.

Advice for Intermediate Players

For intermediate players ready to enhance their engineering skills:

  1. Plan Your Builds: Decide the primary purpose of your ship (combat, exploration, trade) and choose your Engineers accordingly.

  2. Focus on Gathering Materials: Many upgrades require rare materials, so start collecting and trading materials as soon as possible.

  3. Prioritize Key Modules: Target modules that impact your ship’s strengths. For example, prioritize shields and FSD for explorers, or weapons and thrusters for combat ships.

  4. Experiment with Modifiers: Different Engineers offer different upgrade styles. Try experimenting to find the optimal performance for your playstyle.

Ultimately, engineering elevates gameplay, creating more versatile and powerful ships. Intermediate players who invest in efficient material gathering and understand each Engineer’s specialty can enjoy an edge in every aspect.

CMDR Henckes's avatar
CMDR Henckes

1. What is it and why do you need it?

The engineering in the game is a function that allows you to upgrade almost every single module in your ship, but instead of buying the upgrades you provide materials to the engineering to be able to do the upgrade.

2. When should players engineer their ships?

The "when" is always relative, specially in this game, you can try it imediattly or take some time to experience everthing in the game, exploration, combat, trading, etc. That was my aproch, it will even help you to gather some material along your gameplay.

In some point you will desire to advance in the most complex parts of this functions , like fight an elite, make your ship run cold to avoid pirate while trading. So you go after some engineers, I recommend you to use 3rd party tools like Inara and ED Odyssey Material Help to plan the unlocking of each engineer

3. Who are the best engineers and how do you access them?

There isn't a best in my opinion, the most popular of course is Felicity Farseer, she is the one able to upgrade you FSD to the maximum and you want this in everysiongle ship. But for my combat ships I would say that Selene Jean and Lei Cheung. they you help you to protect your ship and keeps you more time fighting!

For each engineer you have to follow some steps to have access. basally you have to discover the existence of this engineer, then you must be invited and then you must provide something to gain access to the engineer. Look ate the image bellow showing the steps to gain access to Felicity Farseer:

4. What are some optimal engineering processes?

You can optimise this focusing on doing important modules first, like FSD, it will help move around faster, after that you can do some protection, or decreasing the masses for high jump ranger, but I recommend you to choose the aiming grade (the level of the engineering) and prioritising the modules, do the upgrades until you upgrade it all or spent all your material.

After that go out gather more materials and upgrade the rest of the modules. And plan your build the ED Odyssey Material Help do this as well

5. How does engineering relate to outfitting?

The engineering will improve the module but this has consequences, it will make it weight more, or heat more or pulls more energy, and without planing the outfitting you have problems like the lack of energy and your ship may even not be able to leave the station because it hasn't enough power.

6. What advice would you give to intermediate players who want to take their engineering to the next level?

Have an outfit build ready, see the steps to unlock the engineers, focuses on important modules. And remember you can use your ship with half the engineering that you have planed. This part of the game isn't so fast and pratical, and with half engineered you ship you have a great improvement anyway!

CMDR_OptimusKoala's avatar
CMDR_OptimusKoala

As myself Engineer, I can answer all this :

1: What is it and why do you need it?

Engineering in Elite Dangerous is a way to improve modules of your ships and also add some specials effects. For a few materials, engineers can make these improvements.
It's the only way to exploit the full capabilities of your ships.

2: When should players engineer their ships?

The perfect timing for engineering is at the early start in my opinion. Engineering and first of all, unlock engineers, should be made on an ongoing basis because it can sometimes be a bit of a pain. Same thing for gathering materials.

3: Who are the best engineers and how do you access them?

There is no "best engineer" but the first who should be unlocked in my opinion is Felicity Farseer who can upgrade your FSD. When you have a 40 or 50 LY range, you can start exploring and unlocking other engineers.

4: What are some optimal engineering processes?

Depends on your build or your needs. For example, a combat ship don't need a long range FSD but a quick charge one. An explorer ship need to be super light etc...
You can find here a starter guide for engineering.

5: How does engineering relate to outfitting?

As engineering depends on your needs, it also depends on the outfiting. Some effects are only available for one specific module.

6: What advice would you give to intermediate players who want to take their engineering to the next level?

My advice is to gather as many materials as you can, unlock all engineers and pin for each one an engineering upgrade. Don't rush it, do it on an ongoing basis.

PS: You can find here a tutorial to improve and organize your material farming with Inara.

o7

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